Ben Crump accepts the Social Justice Impact Award during the 54th NAACP Image Awards at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Feb. 25. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Prosecutors in Virginia plan to release publicly the video related to the death of Irvo Otieno, who died while physically restrained during the intake process at a mental health facility.
Driving the news: "Now that the family has had the private opportunity to view the tragic video, and with their blessing and encouragement, I plan to release the video at the beginning of the week," Dinwiddie Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
- Caroline Ouko, Otieno's mother, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the 12-minute video showed her son, 28, a Black man, being "tortured" and treated "worse than a dog."
The big picture: Seven Virginia sheriff’s deputies and three hospital workers were charged with second-degree murder in connection with Otieno's death.
- Otieno's death comes in the wake of the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died days after being beaten by officers during a traffic stop in January.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who also represented George Floyd's family, announced this month that he joined Otieno's family's legal team.
- "It is truly shocking that nearly three years after the brutal killing of George Floyd by police, another family is grieving a loved one who allegedly died in nearly the exact same manner — being pinned down by police for 12 agonizing minutes," Crump said in a statement, Axios' Sareen Habeshian reports.
Go deeper... Judge delays release of records from Tyre Nichols' death investigation